Pip and I organised a two week, mid-winter escape to the Northern Territory. We flew into Alice Springs, via Auckland and Sydney for 6 days on the Larapinta Trail. Rather tired from little sleep and early starts, I didn’t make it to the scheduled camel races, but I did manage to try a Camel Burger in town! Alice wasn’t too inspiring, with lots of very drunk Aboriginals causing trouble at all times of the day. It really was a sad state of affairs; we were warned not to venture out at night. The Lone Dingo outdoor shop had everything we needed, as did the supermarket.
Though we brought extra water containers expecting to have to carry large amounts of water between campsites through the desert, the Red Center experienced heavy rain and flooding! Alice received more rain in the week that ended on day 3 of our trip than the whole year previously. So much for the desert...
11 Jul 10
It had been raining on and off since we arrived and this morning was no exception. Our Alice Wanderer transfer service arrived nice and early, driving us through the rain to be deposited at Ellery Creek Big hole. Sheltering from the down pours I began to wonder wether we actually had tough enough gear for the conditions we were facing. At least it was warm though and when we began walking the rain stopped though the cloud remained.
We wandered through the desert in full bloom. Wild flowers everywhere punctuated the incredibly green landscape. I’d been expecting red dirt, rocks and sand, not flowers and greenery..
The track climbed up to a small pass in the Heavitree where we surveyed the vast nothing in front. From the map, the Chewings range was 8km away, over very gently undulating nothingness. Paralell to the ranges, the GAFA continued as far as the eye could see. Very strange indeed.
Descending to the plains, we strolled through strange scrub toward Rocky Gully, our camp for the night. On the way we had lunch in a dry river bed, got rained on frequently and were buzzed by huge ‘Budgie Swarms’ that coloured the sky green and sounded like a low flying Helicopter..
Rocky Gully wasn’t a particularly inspiring campsite, but it did stop raining and we were able to enjoy the company of some fellow walkers round a wee campfire.
12 Jul 10
The morning dawned clear and our local walkers announced ‘that will be the last cloud you’ll see this trip’. But by mid morning, mid level cloud returned and looked threatening at times. There were views now, back to the Heavitree range and onward to the Chewings. The terrain undulated a little more than yesterday, with a few small climbs and knolls to traverse, but generally the land was very flat. The temperature rose considerably and we did a bit of hiding under withered trees to try and beat the heat. There was even the chance for a skinny dip in one of the new (normally dry) rivers!
At Hugh Gorge campsite, we found a nice patch of sand on the river flat and did some sunbathing. However, just as we began making our desert, the first drips of rain fell. The rain came and the winds began to stir as we called it a night.
13 Jul 10
My poor little Tarp Tent struggled through the night. Rain fell in sometimes very heavy showers, with associated strong gusty winds. The single skin sil-nylon kept most of the water out, but the leaks did get my sleeping bag reasonably sodden. Our spirits were also pretty dampened, with little sleep due to wondering wether the poles would snap, getting splashed with drips and thinking how the Hugh Gorge must be flooding by now…
Eventually it was light enough to get up and start the day. Sodden gear was stuffed away and grumpy hikers chomped through breakfast. All packed up and ready to go, we crossed the now quickly flowing Hugh River to seek refuge under a very small trail shelter with a solo hiker from Belguim. This guy did quite like to talk, moaning about the rain in the desert, but between grumbles we gleamed as much info as we could about the route through the gorge. I was considering just taking the ‘chicken route’ round the flats on a 4WD road, but after more consultation with the Belgian and then with Pip, a decision was made to have a crack at the Gorge.
I was well pleased we did.. The Hugh Gorge was wonderful, with soaring Quartzite walls, and short narrower slickrock sections. Intially we were wading up to waist deep in the Jaffa coloured waters, but soon had to carefully select our crossing point and raft up against the flow. In a few spots, we had to scramble up the canyon walls and traverse above deep looking pools. As the gradient of the gorge increased near its head, there were two quite tricky crossings of the deep, fast flowing river. We were very glad that the rain had eased to occasional showers by now..
At Hugh Gorge Junction we paused for a hot brew and to try to dry out the Tent in a brief respite from the rain. Though as we climbed away from Hugh River toward Rocky saddle, the drips stopped and the sun tried its best to come out.
Fringe Lilly Creek was a delightful spot to camp, nice flat ground, sheltered from the wind and right beside a beautiful cliff face. Our afternoon was spent drying out our gear in the bouts of sunshine. We were very glad to get that chance…
14 Jul 10
The sky was perfectly clear today, with a cool breeze to prevent us overheating. We ascended the Razorback Ridge, with incredibly wide views in all directions. The immeadiate area in the Chewings range was rough and complex, which contrasted vividly with the flat, almost featurless plains just beyond the range.
Over the tops, the wind was quite chilly, so we hurried off down towards Spencer Gorge. The descent gully had lots of fun scrambles and climb downs, almost like a mini canyon trip. Spencer Gorge itself was more open than the Hugh Gorge, with very little water and plenty more giant boulders to negotiate.
Tonight we camped at Stuarts pass, in the shade of Brinkley bluff to another perfectly clear night.
15 Jul 10
The fine weather continued as we climbed up towards the summit of the bluff. The wind kept us cool though as we climbed up the south face to the panoramic summit. Up on top, there was plenty of evidence of previous campers and if we’d been less weather shy, we might have made camp here. The views were just phenomenal. The Chewings range was like a linear mountain Oasis in a desert of flat scrubland. You could see the plains to the limit of visibility in most directions; most impressive.
We enjoyed a good long lunch on the summit, until we were joined by a guided group, which had some ‘interesting’ members. Soon we scurried on, along the long, gentle descent down the spine of the range, with incredible views all around.
Our amended plan to avoid camping on the summit of Brinkley Bluff saw us arrive this afternoon at Standley Chasm a day early. Icecreams were well received and an early night very much appreciated.
16 Jul 10
Leaving most of our gear at the Standley Chasm Kiosk, we strolled up to the tourist section, took our photo, then disappeared upstream beyond the warning signs. “Death or serious injury may occur if you proceed beyond this sign”. Beyond the sign lay not death for us, but in a short but very very sweet slot canyon. There was a little bit of scrambling involved and a bit of wading, but it was well worth the effort. It was definitely a basic canyon, rather than a tramping route, with narrow walls and some delicate climbing moves.
Above the canyon, we lazed around in the sun for most of the day, strolling back to Standley Chasm in time for another ice cream before our ride home. The bus stopped at Simpsons Gap on the way home.
We were a little rushed getting sorted prior to nightfall, but on arriving at the backpackers, found that we’d been upgraded to a local motel round the corner… Swweeet!
17 Jul 10
Today was spent strolling round Alice springs waiting to fly to Darwin. We visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service, The Alice Reptile Center, an Aboriginal Art Gallery and several shops during our day. And then we’d left the desert and were on our way to the tropics…
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